From the amateur to the professional, each and every rugby player is part of 'something special'. We are all in it for different reasons, many of which we hope to pay tribute to in a second edition of 'Why I Love Rugby'.

The second edition is back with more of the speed, skill, blood, guts and raw emotion that the first edition brought.

We look at this as a free for all series with which we hope to encompass all that is great about rugby. Why I Love Rugby 2 is shorter than the first edition, but we hope that the quality and explosiveness of each clip can identify with everyone on some level.

With the 2009 British & Irish Lions Tour edging ever closer, Rugbydump felt that a nod to Ian McGeechan was more than appropriate. Impending Lions tour aside, we may well have included McGeechan's profound words anyway, as they epitomize the essence of rugby.

The sport means different things to different people, but for all us, to some degree, it is an opportunity of self-expression and perhaps more importantly, a good time.

Wherever you go, whatever you do, be proud to be part of a global family of rugby men and women that have in common, if nothing else, a love for a very special game.

Amazing video !Less amazing and a bit off topic but I just had to react to that: Carter's season is over after he couldn't get up after the last tackle of Stade Franais-Perpignan, the nature of the injury is still not known exactly but it has something to do with his achilles, he's out for 6 months at least. USAP payed 700,000 for 3 games, I'm disgusted to say the least... Perpignan really seems to be doomed this season, every player that played 10 for them suffered from a serious injury so far. Before Carter arrived, they had to put a scrum half as a 10... I assume they'll have to do it again, until he gets hurt and they'll have to put a hooker there xD

Northern Hemispehre rugby certainly not special at the moment, but Ian McGeechan is enthralling as a rugby player I would love to be at his trainings and play for him as my coach. Massive test for the lions vs South Africa, and surely no one better to lead em.

Awesome, i really really liked that.dont get me wrong, i do love watching huge hits and punch ups etc (im aware its the darker side of the game but its still good to watch) but this was just a "what rugby is all about video"......well, what we want people to think its all about, luckily it didnt involve the after game drinking and all that in the club house afterwards.....

pure class. touching video.so true about mcgeechan's speech. the majority of the world may not have cared about the 1997 lions tour (outside of rugby people) but to those guys and those watching it was special. especially for the players who knew what they had to give up to get that oppertunity.heres to special days and heres to rd. cheers!

I keep posting as anonymous, have to get that sorted.This is fantastic, I'm a little tipsy, but it was emotive. I'm out of the game at the moment, for the first time in 14 years and it's the hardest thing I've had to do. This just makes me want to get fit that much faster. BoB Mudd.

This is a great video. Thank you for uploading it.But is there any way, as I know it's been done in the past, of posting a link on RD to download the video (I don't know who made it, so it may not be possible)?

"Northern Hemisphere rugby certainly not special at the moment"Erm...excuse me? Clearly you don't watch very much rugby. I can understand this statement if it is based on French Rugby. But there are English, Welsh and Scottish teams who have been pumping all the best French teams all season.Id like to see how well the Super 14 teams did in the Heineken Cup or Premiership. A few would do well, most would do really shit!Great video though :)

"Northern Hemisphere rugby certainly not special at the moment"Erm...excuse me? Clearly you don't watch very much rugby. I can understand this statement if it is based on French Rugby. But there are English, Welsh and Scottish teams who have been pumping all the best French teams all season.Id like to see how well the Super 14 teams did in the Heineken Cup or Premiership. A few would do well, most would do really shit!What a load of bollocks. The NH teams got dominated at home in the novemeber tours against SH teams which were experimenting with new players and tactics. Against the SH giants at home, the NH teams have absolutley no chance. As usual the SH teams are continuing to forge ahead, new tactics, new standards and more intense rugby. Meanwhile the NH teams beat each other and pat themselves on the back before crashing back to reality against the top sides from down south.The S14 teams are of a generally higher standard than any European club sides, though the gap is narrowing. However, this is due not to the development of good NH players but rather the massive influx of good SH players into those clubs. Take away the SH stars and the NH clubvs would be average at best.

and Anonymous above my first post - mate you are 100% spot onNH fans just dont wish to see the reality - point to note - you will get all kinds of vitriol pointed your way now. Take it as a compliment that you have hit the truth - and that the truth is always hard to swallowCheers

There is an advert in my country (Argentina) that represents rugby and the spirit of those who play.I invite you to see it. Its have been translated (not 100% well but).. see it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIP19nX_aRg=)

Aaaahh always nice to see the tony stanger try against england 1990. I was at that game and if ever a match had every emotion it was this one from the moment david sole led the scots out slowly walking every man with the same steely look in his eye too the first drive when finlay calder took the ball up and crunched into think it was mickey skinner with 3 scots backing him up and driving him another 10 yards to that infamous stanger try oooohhhhh never forget it! Oops sorry folks getting a bit carried away here cheers RD great vid and good luck too the lions.

"Against the SH giants at home, the NH teams have absolutley no chance"So you havent really presented any arguement there at all if u had read my comment correctly. The important parts being "SH giants" and "AT HOME" that wouldn't be much use if u were comparing North Vs South in General as the original comment was. U cant make a sweeping a statement like "Northern Hemispehre rugby certainly not special at the moment" with nothing to back it up.Just cos some SH team beat some NH touring teams doesnt mean anything. a) they are a tour team and b)you are playing at homeSH and NH rugby are very different games just now. in my opinion the SH if better to watch and creates better players but the NH is the more complete game.Anyway, Ill be in NZ in a few weeks so im sure this wont be the last time ill have this discussion. The problem is (I think) that we watch alot more of your rugby than you do of ours, so you are still living off negative stereotypes. Admit it tho, there are some really shit teams in the super 14.

oh and to anonymous...I was talking about club rugby, not international. And it is only the SH teams that are allowed to be experimenting with new team structures, positions and players?Thats what the autumn internationals are for...they are for little else actually.Also...did your precious All Blacks not almost get beaten by a certain Irish club team??I find you guys amusing,ur like the borders teams here in Scotland. You think u "own rugby" funny stuff. get a grip! (who's gonna swear at me first? you know u want to) ;)

^ Lets not tarnish this amazing video with out of place mudslinging on the NH vs SH debate? Take it elsewhere please? My two cents.. arguing on the internet is like running in the special olympics - even if you win, you're still retarded. nuff said about that. Emotional vid for me, with it being about the sport itself - regardless of where you come from. Makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up each time I watch it - and it's been more than a few times already. Awesome work.

Yeah, ur right...sorryhowever..."arguing on the internet is like running in the special olympics - even if you win, you're still retarded"Mate..WTF! Way to try and take the moral high ground and then fall off a cliff near summit!Like Einstein once said "their are only two things that are Infinite, the Universe and Human ignorance, and I'm not sure about the Universe"

Hey there's nothing wrong with a bit of deabte to pass the time. Dr, firstly, SH rugby is basically the tri-nations and the Islands, plus Argentina. However, since the vast majority of Argie players play in the NH, their rugby can hardly be classified as SH rugby, though obviously, technically it is.The Islands will always struggle, cuz of small populations, weak economies and lack of funding.The tri-nations are well ahead of all the NH teams, without doubt.We smashed you away and at home.Wales was the only team to beat one of the big three, on the back of official Aussie hater Alan Lewis' reffing preformance. That's in an entire year, dozens of games, home and away.The S14 teams are rubbish? Based on what? They get beat by other S14teams? That just means they aren't any good relative to those other S14 teams.Your club sides are getting alot better, but again that's because of the ridiculously massive influx of SH coaches and players into the NH competitions. Take away those players and coaches and the top NH club sides would be a whole lot crapper. Guess where these SH players and coaches that the NH clubs are so desperate to sign come from? That's right, the S14.How is the NH a more complete game when you lack some of the skills that the SH teams have? I'd call it far less ambitious and creative, less intense. If I was being cruel I'd call it largely 10-man forward pack rugby. Limited and lacking in scope. There are exceptions of course, Wales play a more expansive game and France used to, while some of the club sides also throw it around more, with the aid of their SH players.one of the maina reas of weakness with the NH sides is the lack of physicality in the tackles. They just aren't as tough and mean as the SH sides.And we don't own rugby, the spread of the game in Europe over the last couple decades is nothing short of remarkable and fantastic for the game. Doesn't mean you can play as well as us yet though, but you'll get there one of these days. A change in attitude is needed though.And as a kiwk once said, "Sure you invented rugby, we just taught you how to play it."

as for the whole NH/SH debate, to say SH is a more physical game is crazy, many SH players comment on teh physicality of the NH game being a step up from the usual SH match. the SH do produce some teams that play brilliant rugby tho, the sharks, blues and canes are all pretty entertaining teams. id say theres not much in it, i think the NH sides are probably on the whole better, but SH are alot more homegrown and have more freedom, less relegation pressure etc. as for this video, amazingmcgeehan has to be the martin luther king of rugby speeches

Anonymous is spot on - you all know ittime to face reality - you will learn more from facing up to itthis is the best !! Ha ha ha And as a kiwk once said, "Sure you invented rugby, we just taught you how to play it.

by the way has anyone ever counted the number of Islanders playing in Europe ??Massive numbers - hang on they are SH aren't they ? i swear there are sooooo many playing in good clubs - the NZ/OZ players who do this - do this because they cant get SH contracts in the S14Did Fiji beat Wales in RWC07 ??? Argentina finished 3rd didnt they ?

to clarify - the NZ/OZ islanders (of island heritage) - who are NZ/OZ citizens - who do this - do so because they cant get S14 contractsthere are plenty i assure you who if they could get a s14 contract - with the chance to play for NZ/OZ i assure you they would still be hereand we would have an even better competition - but unfortunatley the current S14 setup is limited due to not enough population to grow it.hence the japan market being a future option for inclusionif they did include the Pacific Islands which they have talked about- your comps would be screwed - ha ha ha ha

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/7850062.stmI'm sorry, I didn't know where else to post it, it made me angry!!A formula to make a good team... just like that. J Davis talks the most sense, am I being unreasonable in saying that M Johnson should not be taking a brunt of of abuse after, what 7 months in charge with only the autumn internationals?Much as I hate to admit it the N. Hemisphere has been tagging along for a while... Auckland grid, square drill...?I hope that the coming six nations is a cracking tournament... and more importantly I can witness another England victory... in 7 matches I've witnessed one. This includes the embarrassing losses to Wales and Scotland last year. They were better teams, but they shouldn't have had a look in!However, more than this I hope that the lions tour is a success, it's about bloody time!!

Jesus, some people just don't know how to set their egos aside, simply enjoy a good rugby video, and relay their appreciation to the poster.Instead, someone starts a stupid debate about NH/SH rugby that has no place here.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!NH more physical! NH clubs better overal!!!!HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!Absurdity of the highest order!You must think that the guys who play for the top three SH nations don't come from S14 or something!Suddenyl they are better than their NH counterparts, but only at international level? Not club level, where they are crap, but suddenly at international level they become remarkably better players? Lote Tuqiri, Dan Carter, Matt Giteau, Brian Habana, a hundred more, all crap at S14 level, suddenly awesome at international level? Ridiculous.It's less physical in the north, as evidence by your constant dishing out of cards for what would be considered perfectly legitimate tackles in the south and your obsession with calling any tackle where a player loses his feet a spear tackle or (and this isn't even a real term in the rules) a 'dump tackle'.Weak as piss mate, you northern types.

As a rugby player whose domestic season is about to begin this video epitomises so much about whats good in rugby. I particularly loved the clips of the dudes huddled together after a long hard training session because goddamit soccer/basketball or wadeva shitty sport out there will never understand the physicality and the sacrfice rugby players make on the field.Great speech my Mcgeechan really, and fantastic music, it was really a terrific clip.Dont really see the point of the debate NH vs SH in the context of this video which is supposed to show just how awesome this sport is at any level, although really after the Autumn Series i think it is pretty blatant

this video just epitomises everything i love about rugby. gave me those pre match butterfliesAs to the NH/SH debate i think this petty arguing ruins the context in which the video is meant in the sense that rugby is a sport that brings people together so creating a divide in the comments section is a bit strangeAlthough even though i am from scotland i would have to say that a higher standard of rugby is played in the southern hemisphere as is evident from the recent autumn internationals and most matches played between SH/NH teams

Awesome video guys, liking the geechs speech too.. can't wait for the lions vs south africa, its gonna be a humdinger!! As for the NH/SH debate, there is a difference but i don't think there is as much as everyone is making out!! i love southern hemispher rugby i follow the crusaders alot there, for me they seem to sum up the southern hemisphere rugby! As for Northern Hemisphere we got a little bit to go but alot of the northen teams also need clarity!! also is there going to be a 6 nations preview on here!?! Much love to all southern and northern hemisphere rugby fans!

I couldn't have put into words why I love rugby as well as you put it into this video, as you already know. I've watched it many a time and it still has the same impact as it did the first. Keep them coming. And no worries, just enough drama.

Think I got the hang of this now, but can we get a system for RD regulars... within the site. The people I've been reading, admittedly not read them all, but is the idea of this post to try and unite? As a player/fan in England I can see the virtue of our game but how is the SH game any worse? The national teams are still better than ours, in general, and certainly in England we still run Aukland grid at Junior level. Be grateful for the sport given and the advances gained. Just hope the sport doesn't head the way of football in the professional era. BoB Mudd.

Something like this:"Thirty years from now you will meet each other in the street, and there will just be a look, and you will know just how special some days in your life are.On that field sometimes today, all it will be, between you, is a look, that will say everything. And the biggest thing it will say is: you are special. You are very, very special. Go out, enjoy it, remember how you have got here and why and be special for the rest of your lives."